Sleeping Alone
by NerdyJibbsOreo
Summary: Jenny is gone to a conference for six nights, she and Jethro find themselves missing each other. One-shot. Married Jibbs.


_I'm alive, I've risen from the work grave and decided to finally publish one of the things I started months ago. Hopefully I'll finish some more of my stuff, because I hate how many oneshots I have that I started but never finished. At least I kept my tumblr blog active, and my YouTube account half alive, but I pretty much failed this fanfiction one, and for that I sincerely apologize. My tumblr and YouTube are basically almost completely NCIS dedicated though, and I have a few Jibbs videos on my YouTube, so if you are interested the links to those are on my fanfiction profile._

 _This oneshot definitely isn't good enough to make up for my three month long absence, but I hope you still enjoy it!_

* * *

Jenny threw herself onto the cozy looking hotel bed, clad in fresh pajamas with minty fresh teeth and a clean make-up free face. She flexed her feet, enjoying the freedom from the heels that she had been wearing _all_ day, and ran her hand across the soft sheets. She shifted into the middle of the bed, bunched most of the pillows under her head, pulled the bedspread over herself, and then smiled as she let her body relax and sink into it all.

This really was _fantastic_.

She had almost forgotten some of the advantages of sleeping alone—she had gotten used to sleeping next to Jethro ever since they had gotten married.

She was attending a special conference for the agency this week, and Ziva was the agent assigned as her personal protection detail. Jethro had wanted to be the agent assigned, but a case had come up and he needed to stay with the remainder of his team.

She stretched out as much as possible, letting all of her limbs relax. It felt so comfortable and nice to have the bed all to herself. No partner beside her who was too warm, or taking up too much room, or snoring, or trying to convince her to have sex when she wasn't in the mood.

It wasn't that she didn't love him—she loved Jethro with all of her heart. She'd never want a life without him.

There were just some benefits to single life that she missed a little.

She shifted and pressed her face against a different pillow, enjoying the cool, clean feeling of it. She sighed contently and flipped the light beside her off, letting herself drift off into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

He came home late, tired from the case that had been keeping him, DiNozzo, and McGee very busy all day. It had been weird knowing that Jenny hadn't been in her office throughout the day. Weird coming home without her, or seeing her security detail parked nearby. Her coat wasn't hanging up, her heels weren't sitting by the stairs, and the house was completely silent—void of any sarcastic or suggestive remarks.

He sighed and made his way up the stairs, knowing he needed to get whatever sleep he could. Him and the boys would be continuing the case early in the morning—they were in sore need of any leads or clues they could possibly get.

He opened the bedroom door and looked at the messy bed that neither of them had time to make that morning—messy from their way of saying goodbye the night before. He smirked and shook his head, trudging into the room and kicking off his shoes as he started the process of stripping his clothes. He changed into a pair of sweatpants and his red USMC hoodie, catching the barest scent of perfume as he pulled the hoodie on. He shook his head and smiled, almost surprised she left him his hoodie, considering how often she 'borrowed' it.

He climbed into his side of the bed and shifted to lay on his side, staring at the empty space beside him.

It wasn't like they hadn't spent nights apart since they had gotten married—work sometimes kept one of them at the office overnight, whether it was an MTAC meeting or a case that came up in the middle of the night. In this case, she would be gone for seven days and six nights at a conference, and knowing that she wouldn't be at the office or at home for that long made things seem a little lonelier. She was a bright spark to his day that he always counted on to be there, and things just didn't seem quite right or complete without her presence.

Ziva's absence made a difference too, it changed the dynamics in the bullpen. McGee, and especially DiNozzo, both seemed a little less enthusiastic. They also bickered a lot more, much to his personal displeasure. They were so irritating at one point he had seriously considered asking Abby to drug them just so he could think in peace.

He'd taken for granted how much an influence one or two people at work made on a daily basis. It didn't matter how many other people that got along and loved each other were there, any missing team member impacted everyone in some way. It was strange that Jenny and Ziva had both started at the office later than the rest of them, having to work really hard just to be liked or trusted by any of them, and now they were completely irreplaceable. It was unimaginable to think of daily work life without either of them.

He slid his hand onto her side of the bed and closed his eyes, grateful that it was only six nights and not a lifetime. He'd already faced the hell of truly having an empty bed for 15 years.

* * *

Jenny kicked her heels off after she shut and locked the hotel door. She felt like she needed a drink, but she was also too tired to go get one. She changed as quickly as possible into something more comfortable and then collapsed onto the bed, wishing her throbbing headache would go away.

She had been in meeting after meeting today, and she was feeling a little worn out from all the constant political pissing matches all the agencies had been getting into. She was also sick of all the men who seemed to think that she couldn't do her job because she was a woman. The way they all talked to her and underhandedly tried to belittle her was absolutely maddening.

She was extremely grateful to have Ziva's company all the time, and it was probably the main thing keeping her sane throughout the whole conference. She was also glad she had gotten to catch up with a few past acquaintances and friends from other agencies.

Ziva and her had spent the second night together, drinking and eating junk food as they watched ridiculous reality tv shows and soap operas, laughing like maniacs and making fun of everything. They'd ended up falling asleep on the bed at some point, waking up really late the next morning and having to rush to get ready for the next meeting. The third night they'd eaten out and gotten back to their rooms at a reasonable time, where Jenny had found herself starting to miss Jethro a little. Now it was the fourth night, and the feeling of missing him had increased much more.

They'd hardly talked since she left—they kept missing each others calls. She was always in a meeting, or he was chasing leads, or one of them didn't have their phone on them. They had a brief conversation the day before, and it sounded like he and his team were exhausted and still getting nowhere.

She curled up and got comfortable in the bed, missing the comfort of Jethro's arms around her. She missed his smell, his gruff voice, his warm eyes, and his hair...as well as _other_ things about him.

She smirked, thinking about how she couldn't wait to give him a proper hello when she got back home.

She closed her eyes and tried to relax, attempting—and failing—to fall asleep for a good twenty minutes. She was baffled by how restless she was, considering she felt completely exhausted and had a hammering headache.

She gave up after another twenty minutes ticked by, turning the light back on and sitting up in bed, reaching for her phone and hitting the first number on speed dial. She just needed to hear him.

It felt like it rang forever before the automated voice message began playing. She closed her eyes in defeat and pressed the end button. She was so tired, her head hurt so much, and she missed him, and now she felt tears threatening from everything she was feeling.

"Damn," she muttered, rubbing her head and reaching for some acetaminophen in her bedside drawer. She popped a few into her mouth, turned the light off, and laid back down, hoping sleep would claim her soon.

* * *

He arrived home just past zero one hundred, feeling like he was using all of his remaining energy to make it up the stairs to his bedroom. His head was throbbing, his eyes felt impossibly tired, and he just felt annoyed and done with life. He'd noticed after work that he'd missed a call from her a couple hours before and it had made his bad mood even worse. He had been tempted to call her back, but it was really late and he didn't want to wake her—no matter how much he missed the sound of her voice.

He changed into his pajamas and glared at the empty bed. He grabbed one of her pillows and the blanket she liked and headed out the room, going down the stairs and into the living room. He tossed the pillow on the couch and then threw himself onto it as well, pulling the blanket over himself. He turned his face into the pillow, breathing in her scent.

He'd hardly been getting any sleep, and he felt like his body was evaporating as he sank into the couch.

The case had been taking up a lot of time, and he didn't realize how used he'd gotten to having Jenny in bed beside him. It felt unnatural sleeping there without her, and he'd been pretty restless. He'd found himself sleeping on her side of the bed the night before, surrounding himself in her scent. He felt sappy and ridiculous and he hatedit.

He didn't know when but he drifted off as he breathed in her pillow, and after what felt like only ten minutes of sleep his phone was ringing and waking him up. He cursed from the infernal noise as he sat up, realizing it was hours later, a dim orange glow against the curtains as the sun began to rise.

He flipped the phone open and pressed it to his ear, his eyes shut, not able to shake the overwhelming fatigue he felt.

"Jen?" He answered groggily.

"Oh no, Gibbs, I'm so sorry, were you expecting Director Shepard to call you? Oh my gosh, I can hang up right now and get back to you la—"

He took the phone away from his ear for a moment, shaking his head a little and trying to keep his eyes open as he tried to wake up a bit. He pressed the phone back to his ear, hoping he would sound at least somewhat coherent.

"Abs," he interrupted the nervous chatter still going on, shifting around to try and stay awake. "Why you callin' this early in the mornin'?"

"I got a match on that piece of evidence you guys collected the other night, and it could be the guy who killed the petty officer's wife, and I'm hoping it can also point you guys to where they might be holding the petty officer hostage. Also, Major Mass Spec has been a little grumpy this morn—"

"Abs," he interrupted again, "give me the name and address."

* * *

"Staring at it is not going to make it ring," Ziva commented, smirking at Jenny as she took another bite of their chinese takeout dinner.

Jenny glared at her and then gave her phone another worried glance. She'd called their home a couple of times early that morning to no avail, and then she'd tried calling Jethro's cell several times throughout the day, never once getting an answer. Tony hadn't answered any of Ziva's texts that day either, which added to Jenny's worry. She knew they were probably just swamped, but she couldn't help but fear irrational things.

She picked up her phone and dialed her office, hoping Cynthia was still there.

"Director Shephard's office."

"Cynthia, it's Jenny," she responded, feeling relieved to finally get a hold of someone.

"Director, what a pleasant surprise," Cynthia greeted happily. "Is there something I can do for you?"

"Yes, I was just wondering, what is Agent Gibbs' team up to? I haven't been able to get in touch with Jethro, and Agent DiNozzo hasn't answered any texts..." she trailed off, knowing she sounded like some ridiculously clingy wife.

"Agent Gibbs and his team have been in the interrogation rooms since early this morning. Their first suspect gave up a couple of names, both of whom gave up more names, and they've pretty much been interrogating people nonstop." Cynthia gave a laugh, "As for Agent DiNozzo, he's being issued a new cell tomorrow. His other one was destroyed when Agent Gibbs somehow 'accidentally' managed to drop it into DiNozzo's cup of coffee this morning."

Jenny smiled widely, shaking her head.

"That certainly sounds like a typical 'accident'," she said with a laugh. "Thank you for the update, Cynthia. Would you please leave a note on Agent Gibbs' desk, telling him to call me when he can?" She asked.

"Sure thing, Director. I hope you've been having an enjoyable trip."

"Well, it's the usual boring political mess that these conferences always are. I've certainly enjoyed the relaxing in between bits though, thank you."

They said their goodbyes and Jenny hung up, looking at Ziva.

"I told you they were probably just busy," Ziva said, pointing a chopstick at her from across the room.

"There is no way you could hear what Cynthia was saying from over there," Jenny responded. "For all you know, they could have all quit and moved to Mexico to be beach bums with Mike Franks."

"If it were any other reason you would have seemed a lot more angry, anxious, or worried by her response," Ziva answered smoothly, ignoring Jenny's remark and taking another bite of food.

They ate silently for a few minutes, Jenny's thoughts on Jethro as she stared at the phone resting on her knee. Ziva put her carton down and got up, grabbing the remote and flopping down onto the bed.

"Come on, how about we make fun of the tv shows again," Ziva suggested. "We should be enjoying the fact that we are not at the office dealing with whatever mess they are. We should feel pleasure that they are suffering while we are not."

Jenny smiled at Ziva, knowing she had a point, and relenting to the distraction she was providing. She put her phone in her pocket and got up to sit on the bed with her.

"You're right, we should be enjoying the freedom," she replied, settling in next to Ziva who was flipping through the channels.

"Oh look, that scandalous medical drama is on again," Jenny said with a laugh as Ziva landed on one of the shows they had mocked a couple of nights before.

"I wonder which doctors will be having affairs this time," Ziva asked conspiratorially, both of them erupting into laughter right at that second when one of the hot doctors suddenly professed his love for his nurse.

* * *

He awoke in his desk chair, his neck feeling stiff. He rubbed his face and blinked several times, the office becoming clearer as he gradually woke up. He groaned and let out a long breath, sitting forward and checking his watch. He looked around his desk hoping to find leftover coffee from the day before, only finding an empty coffee cup and a sticky note he hadn't noticed the night before.

He read the neatly scrawled note from Cynthia and then hurriedly opened his desk drawer and fished out his phone, flipping it open.

 _"Jen" - 3 Missed Calls_

He felt guilty and anxious all at the same time, hoping she hadn't been trying to call about anything critical. He immediately hit speed dial and listened to the phone ring for a while before her voice message came up.

"Damn thing," he muttered, tossing the phone back into his desk. He looked up at her office door on the catwalk, missing her. He put his head in his hands, hearing the elevator ding as he tried to get the energy to go get some much needed coffee.

"Ah, Jethro, my dear fellow. I see you are awake."

He listened as Ducky's footsteps got closer, suddenly smelling the magical aroma he had been thinking about. He peaked through his fingers to see if he was hallucinating the smell, realizing that Ducky had a cup of coffee in his hand.

"I thought you might be needing this," Ducky said, placing the cup on his desk as he came to stand in front of it. "I assumed it was going to be one of those desk nights for you.

"Thanks Duck, you're a life saver," Jethro responded gratefully, taking a swig of the wonderful burning brew and closing his eyes as he savored it.

"How is Jennifer doing at the conference?" Ducky asked conversationally.

"Hardly spoken to her, never seem to catch each other at a good time," he responded moodily.

"It'll just make your reunion that much sweeter," Ducky said, his eyes twinkling. "Distance makes the heart grow fonder."

Jethro wanted to roll his eyes at the comment, but was distracted by the phone on his desk suddenly ringing. He picked it up instantly, hoping to hear a certain voice on the other end.

"Gibbs," he answered.

"Special Agent Gibbs, an Agent from Homeland is requesting a video meeting with you in MTAC right now. He says he has some information about a couple of the suspects you have in interrogation."

"I'll be right up," he answered the tech, letting out a sigh as he hung up. He was hoping to have this case wrapped up by tonight, feeling like his sanity was just about worn through.

* * *

She'd gotten up that morning and decided she couldn't take another night without him, further deciding that she was coming home tonight. It would mean she would miss one meeting that was early the next morning, but it wasn't critical that she be there, and frankly, she really didn't care anymore.

She'd missed a call from Jethro later in the morning when she'd been in a meeting directed by SecNav himself. She'd tried to call him back a couple of hours later, and when he failed to answer his cell she tried his desk phone, only to be answered by McGee—who nervously informed her that the boss's cell had died because he hadn't charged it (apparently demanding that McGee 'fix it'), and that the boss was currently in interrogation _again_. The happy news was that McGee had said Jethro was pretty confident that their case would be wrapped up by the night, and Jenny decided that her coming home early could just be a surprise.

The only flaw in her surprise plan was that she didn't account for flight delays—which unfortunately ended up being an issue. She had wanted to be home by dinner time, and instead she found herself in the airport waiting with Ziva for hours.

When they finally got off the plane and she switched her phone back on, she realized that Jethro had tried to call a couple of times while she was in the air. She shook her head at their bad timing, but also let out a smile knowing that she would be seeing him very soon, and hopefully he would be pleasantly surprised.

She had never felt more relieved than when her security detail dropped her off at her house late that night and she finally got to open the door home again. She wasn't surprised when the door didn't show any resistance to her walking in—typical Jethro. She was the one who had enough sense to lock the doors at night.

It was dark in the house when she walked in, and she welcomed the warmth and the familiar smell that seemed to surround her as soon as she gently closed the door. She slipped her shoes off and tiptoed straight ahead to the stairs, intending to sneak up to the bedroom—only to be stopped by a noise. She turned her head and listened for a minute, realizing it was snoring, and followed the soft sounds into the living room.

She squinted in the dark, deducing that her husband was sleeping on the couch. She walked closer, taking in the sight. She smiled as she looked at him, laying with his nose pressed into her pillow, his lower half covered in her blanket, his disheveled hair sticking up in the back. He looked so peaceful and worn out all at the same time.

She crouched down and kissed his head slowly, pressing more lingering kisses across his face. His body tensed and his eyes bolted open, looking ready to fight, instantly relaxing the second he realized it was just her. She felt bad for waking him up, realizing he must have been completely worn out if it took him that long to wake up.

"Jen," he sighed in relief.

"Husband," she greeted with a smirk, caressing his cheek as she pressed her lips against his for a long overdue kiss.

They broke apart and smiled at each other, his droopy eyes and cheesy grin making her want to laugh.

He furrowed his eyebrows, the sleepy look in his eyes diminishing, looking at her as if he finally registered her presence.

"Thought you weren't comin' back 'till tomorrow night?"

"I couldn't stand the idea of being in another long meeting that just turned into another political pissing match," she replied. "There's only so many times a civilized girl can stand hearing all the federal boys compare the sizes of their jurisdictions and egos."

He snorted, amusement flicking through his eyes.

"Nah, you just missed me," he teased, reaching out and placing a hand on her hip.

She was tempted to deny it with some sarcastic comment, but as she studied his face and placed her hand over his, feeling her ring press against his skin, she felt more sincere.

"I did," she admitted in a whisper, pecking his lips. "Did you miss me?"

"Why do ya think I'm on this couch?" He pointed out with a laugh, his grip on her hip tightening as he tried to pull her closer.

She laughed as he tugged again, making her lose her balance and topple over him. He seemed to somewhat regret the decision, letting out a grunt as she winded him, making her laugh even more. She rolled off of him and they adjusted their positions so they could both fit comfortably, getting on their sides and facing each other, their bodies pressed close together. She pulled the blanket up over both of them.

" 'm glad you're back," he mumbled against her lips, a mischievous smile crossing his face as he slid his hand up underneath her shirt.

"Hm," she chuckled, "I can tell."

They kissed each other gently for a minute, basking in the others smell and touch as they began to relax. When they broke apart she gave a contented sigh and kissed his cheek, noting how heavy his eyes were, feeling the same.

"Goodnight, Jethro," she purred, rolling over onto her other side, her back against his chest now.

He wrapped an arm around her and pressed her closer against him.

"Love you, Jen," he mumbled, his breath tickling her ear before he moved his head down and nuzzled her neck.

She smiled, putting her arm over his and intertwining their fingers.

"Love you too."

Their breathing began to even out as sleep overtook them, hands intertwined and content smiles on their faces—just happy to have each other.


End file.
